Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Wed. Oct. 9 is Bike to School Day!

Please
join us on Wed, Oct. 9 (rain date: Wed, Oct. 16) as we celebrate our
15th year participating in the International Walk and Bike to School
Day.

This
wonderful event is a growing tradition here in Arlington, and the day
is part of a month-long celebration that focuses on encouraging students
to walk and bike to school, while teaching them about the health
benefits of walking and biking. Over the last 15 years, APS and
Arlington County have partnered to encourage families to celebrate Walk
and Bike to School Day.

Every
October, millions of children, parents, teachers and community leaders
around the world walk or bike to school to celebrate and encourage a
healthy lifestyle for students. To continue this tradition, I hope you
and your children will join us by walking or bicycling to school. Walking
and bicycling to school enables children to incorporate the regular
physical activity they need each day to succeed in the classroom, but
also builds healthy habits that will last them a lifetime.

According
to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity now affects nearly 18% of
all children and adolescents in the United States, and since 1980, the
number has almost tripled. Obesity puts a child at risk for high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, respiratory
problems, and other conditions, and children with disabilities are at a
higher risk for sedentary behavior and can benefit from more
opportunities to be active. Some of the benefits of walking or biking
to school include:

Helping students to be more alert in school;

Keeping children heart-healthy, strong and fit;

Helping to make the air cleaner by reducing the number of cars on the road;

Providing children with added time to talk with parents and friends on their way to and from school; and

Teaching students how to safely navigate the streets of your neighborhood.

Resources Available for Families:The APS
Transportation Office worked closely with the Multimodal Transportation
and Student Safety Special Committee to refine and improve our school
walk maps. The new Multimodal Planning Maps are online at www.apsva.us/transportation, and can assist families in planning safe routes to school.

They are available in two formats:

Online Interactive Maps show
school APS walk, bus, and attendance zones; school crossing guards,
traffic signals, and bike routes; and community resources including ART
bus stops and routes, Metro stops and routes, Metrorail stations and
lines, parks, land parcels, streets and building footprints.

Walk and Bike to School Day
provides you with an excellent reason to talk with your child about the
benefits of walking or bicycling to school and to take this opportunity
to encourage a healthy lifestyle. I also hope all of our families will
take this opportunity to remind students to walk or ride to and from
school with a buddy, and to tell an adult at home or at school if they
observe any unusual activity while en route.

All of our schools are
participating in Walk and Bike to School Day this fall, so I look
forward to seeing everyone out on Oct. 9.